Start with defending champions Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova. Add the tastes and smells (including the bad ones) of Paris and a pinch of clay. Voila, you have the 2015 French Open.

The year's second tennis major starts May 24 in Paris and runs through June 7. It's also the first of three summer-ish elite tournaments, followed by Wimbledon in June-July and the U.S. Open in August-September.

Most of the headline matches will take place on three show courts. Court Philippe Chatrier and Court Suzanne Lenglen honor of French tennis legends. Court 1 lacks only an imaginative name.

The venue is Stade Roland Garros, honoring a French aviator who was a pioneer and World War I combatant. Garros died on Oct. 5, 1918, a day before his 30th birthday and a month before the Great War ended, when his plane was shot down. Officially, the tournament is Les internationaux de France de Tennis, Roland Garros.

Did you know: The 1946 and '47 tournaments were played at Wimbledon. The tournament was not played in 1915-19 because of World War I (which ended in 1918), and 1940 because of World War II. It was played with a limited field in 1941-45. It was the French Championships from 1891 to 1967, when it became the French Open as tennis professionals were allowed to play. Women's competition began in 1897.

Nadal earned the title "King of Clay" because of his nine titles, most by any player at one major. With the exception of 2009, when Roger Federer won, Nadal won every year since 2005.

Max Decugis of France won eight times between 1903 and 1913. Bjorn Borg won six times.

Among American men, only Tony Trabert and Jim Courier hold multiple French Open titles; both won twice. Americans won 11 times in all. No American man has won the tournament since Andre Agassi in 1999.

American women have fared better, with a tournament-best 28 titles. Serena Williams in 2013 was the most recent American champion. Chris Evert won seven times.

Sharapova's 2014 victory was her second on the clay courts. She also won in 2012.

American Michael Chang is the tournament's youngest male champion. He was 17 and three months when he won in 1989.

Monica Seles was younger still, 16½, when she won in 1990.

TV coverage: Telecasts begin at 5 a.m. ET, with ESPN, The Tennis Channel and NBC as U.S. carriers. NBC will carry the women's final on June 6 and the men's title match on June 7, starting at 9 a.m. ET both days.